AN INTRODUCTION TO THE JOURNAL OF WESTERN MARTIAL ART
The Mission of the JWMA
Welcome to the Journal of Western Martial Art. Firstly, a definition of what "western" means is required for clarification. Western or "Occidental" describes cultures stemming from the Greco-Roman, Celtic and Germanic traditions, and the lands those cultures historically dominated. Typically, this would include Europe and the Americas. A marked difference between Oriental and Occidental martial arts is the general Occidental mind set in terms of the time to train and learn new martial skills. The Occidental instructor's mind set appears very different from those of the Oriental instructor's mindset, in that the Occidental instructor is not concerned with deep ritual or ceremony that are often, an integral part of the Oriental martial arts. Occidental students expect their Masters to provide systematic and effective knowledge, that has immediate application. Given the rapidity of the growing numbers of western-oriented martial arts groups and schools, the indication is evident that technique and the abilitt technique and the abilitickly are the biggest draw for western martial arts schools today.
Perhaps, another distinction, which is related to the point above, is that it is often assumed that Occidental martial arts have a general lack of a meta-physical or religious belief system that appears to permeate Oriental martial arts. Although, in different times and places, some degree of ritual, secrecy or ritual has been attached to the martial arts, the underlying pragmaticism that was Rome's legacy to the West has meant that Occidental students seek training in the "Arts of Mars" for the purpose of defence and perhaps self-discipline, but not to get "closer to God". The points raised and these assumed differences could well be enough fuel for a future article for submission!
The purpose of this journal is to create a "one-stop" collection of papers, articles, submissions and periodicals that pertains to western martial arts (WMA). This journal will also cover historical martial arts including, but not limited to medieval, renaissance and classical martial arts. As this journal evolves, and more submissions begin appearing from various martial disciplines, more refined classification and categorization will evolve to ensure proper and intelligent coverage and sorting of WMA disciplines. The expectation is that submissions will cover both the "martial" and "science" aspect of WMA. Weapons and discipl Weapons and discipl expanse from the alpeen, bayonet and cutlass to sabre, savate zipota. It is a large area, one that will require careful thought and attention when categorizing into something that is intuitive and useable.
Lastly, all submissions posted will be reviewed by one or more of the editorial staff and will operate within the boundaries as described in the Submission Guide available on this web site. The desire is to provide a value-added resource of useful, intelligent and practical material that will enhance, facilitate and promote the development, resurrection and/or research of WMA.
David Cvet
Executive Editor
November, 1999
About
the editor: is the Founder and President of the Academy
of European Medieval Martial Arts (AEMMA), an organization dedicated
to the resurrection and formalization of medieval martial arts training
systems. He received training in Milan, Italy employing steel weapons in
longsword techniques and has participated in various organizations dedicated
to studying the Middle Ages. In addition David has studied some Asian combat
arts in Asian combat
arts in nd and experience having fired his desire
to pursue a formal medieval martial arts training program, he founded AEMMA
in mid-1998. He is a member of the advisory board of the Swordplay
Symposium International (SSI), an interdisciplinary colloquium of historical
fencing specialists dedicated to promoting and advancing the study of Western
swordsmanship, a participating board member of the Association
for Historical Fencing (AHF). David received
his appointment of free scholler in Oct, 2000 and the "Acknowledged
Instructor" (AI) designation for armoured longsword instruction in
Oct, 2000 by the International
Masters at Arms Federation (IMAF). David is also the Vice-President of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada.